Реферат: Council of Europe

* adopting the budget

* adopting and monitoring the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities

* implementing cooperation and assistance programmes for central and eastern Europe

* supervising the execution of judgments of the European Convention on Human Rights by the member States

* contributing to Conferences of Specialised Ministers

The Committee of Ministers is made up of the ministers for foreign affairs of the 41 member states. It meets twice a year in ordinary sessions and may hold special or informal meetings. Its Chair changes every six months according to the member countries' alphabetical order.

The Ministers' Deputies meet at least once a month. They draw up the Council of Europe's activities programme and adopt its budget, which today amounts to some 1 300 million French francs. It also decides what follow-up should be given to proposals of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the specialist ministerial conferences that the Council of Europe regularly organises.

· The Parliamentary Assembly

The Parliamentary Assembly is the parliamentary organ of the Council of Europe consisting of a number of individual representatives from each member State, with a President elected each year from among them for a maximum period of three sessions. The present President is Lord Russell-Johnston, a British Liberal Democrat (LDR) member of the House of Lords.

Whilst in the Committee of Ministers each member state has one vote, in the Parliamentary Assembly the number of representatives and consequently of votes is determined by the size of the country. The biggest number is eighteen, the smallest two. As there are an equal number of representatives and substitutes, the total number of members of the Assembly is therefore 582, plus 15 special guests and 15 Observers.

They are appointed to the Parliamentary Assembly in a manner which is left to be decided by each member state as long as they are elected within their national or federal Parliament, or appointed from amongst the members of that parliament. The balance of political parties within each national delegation must ensure a fair representation of the political parties or groups in their national parliaments.

Political groups

In order to develop a non-national European outlook, the formation of political groups in the Parliamentary Assembly has been promoted and from 1964 onwards they were granted certain rights within the Rules of Procedure. At present the Assembly counts five political groups: the Socialist Group (SOC); the Group of the European People's Party (EPP/CD); the European Democratic Group (EDG); the Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group (LDR) and the Group of the Unified European Left (UEL). Political Groups have to commit themselves to respect the promotion of the values of the Council of Europe, notably political pluralism, human rights and the rule of law. To form a Group, at least twenty members of at least six different delegations have to decide to do so. Members of the Assembly are entirely free to choose the Group they wish to join. Before deciding they can attend meetings of one or several groups and should not be bound by their national party label but choose the group which best suits their political affinities. The President of the Assembly and the Leaders of the Groups form the Ad hoc Committee of Chairpersons of Political Groups.

The Bureau

The President, eighteen Vice-Presidents and the Chairpersons of the political groups or their representatives make up the Bureau of the Assembly. The big countries have a permanent seat in the Bureau; the smaller countries take turns. The duties of the Bureau are manifold: preparation of the Assembly's agenda, reference of documents to committees, arrangement of day-to-day business, relations with other international bodies, authorisations for meetings by Assembly committees, etc.

The Standing Committee

The Standing Committee consists of the Bureau, the Chairpersons of national delegations and the Chairpersons of the general committees. It is generally convened at least twice a year and its major task is to act on behalf of the Assembly when the latter is not in session. Each year one of the Standing Committee meetings, together with a number of other committees, takes place normally in one of the member states.

The Joint Committee

The Joint Committee is the forum set up to co-ordinate the activities of, and maintain good relations between, the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly.

It is composed of a representative of each member Government and a corresponding number of representatives of the Assembly (the members of the Bureau and one representative of each parliamentary delegation of member States not represented on the Bureau).

The Secretariat of the Assembly

The secretariat of the Assembly is headed by Mr Bruno Haller, Secretary General of the Assembly who is elected by it for a period of five years.

Its staff is divided into the Private Office of the President, the Secretariat of the Bureau and the Joint Committee, the Table Office and Inter-parliamentary Relations, the Administration and Finance Department and the Political and Legal Affairs Department including a number of operational Divisions to cover the work of the committees.

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly is made up of 286 representatives and the same number of substitutes from the parliaments of the member states. Each delegation's composition reflects that of its parliament of origin.

The Parliamentary Assembly hold four plenary sessions a year. Its debates on a wide range of social issues and its recommendations to the Committee of Ministers have been at the root of many of the Council of Europe's achievements.

The Parliamentary Assembly has instituted a special guest status, which has enabled it to play host to representatives of the parliaments of non-member states in central and eastern Europe, paving the way to these countries' eventual accession.

The Assembly plays a key role in the accession process for new members and in monitoring compliance with undertakings entered into.

· The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, like the Parliamentary Assembly, has 286 representatives and 286 substitutes. It is composed of two chambers, one representing local authorities and the other regions. Its function is to strengthen democratic institutions at the local level, and in particular to assist the new democracies.